In the overall crime league, the UK comes second only to Ireland, with more than a fifth of the population in both countries exposed to crime in the past year.

The findings are a blow to ministers who claim crime is falling, and to campaigners who claim the UK locks up too many offenders compared with other European countries.

Comprehensive research discovered that an astonishing five per cent of the population had suffered assault involving threats of violence over the past year - the highest rate in Europe.

Particularly embarrassing for the Government is the clear link researchers found between levels of violent crime and alcohol consumption - at a time when booze-fuelled violence is rising in the wake of the 24-hour drinking reforms.

The European Crime and Safety Survey is a joint project involving the United Nations and the EU Commission involving some 40,000 interviews across the continent, and is described as 'the most comprehensive analysis of crime, security and safety ever conducted in the EU'.

Instead of relying on official crime data published by EU governments, the researchers started from scratch, asking huge numbers of adults about their experiences during 2004.

Measuring the level of common crimes across the EU, Britain was ranked secondworst after Ireland.

The offences which were considered included vehiclerelated problems such as having a car stolen or something stolen from it, plus theft, burglary, robbery, rape and sexual assault, assaults and threats, hate crimes, consumer fraud, corruption - such as bribery by government officials or police - and exposure to drug-related problems, such as seeing drugs dealt or taken in public.

On average around 15 per cent of Europeans had been victims of one of the crimes over the past year, but in the UK the figure was 21 per cent and in Ireland 22.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain were all below average, with between nine and 14 per cent. Hungary's crime levels were only around half of those in Britain, while those in Portugal and Greece were almost as low.

Yet England and Wales has more prisoners per head of population, at 148 per 100,000, than any other country in Western Europe apart from Luxembourg. In Germany the rate is 94 while in France it is just 85.

The prison population in England and Wales has soared to record levels of more than 80,000 - up from around 60,000 in 1997 when Labour came to power - leaving the system in crisis as ministers struggle against chronic and worsening overcrowding.

Opponents of imprisonment claim the jails are full because of a Draconian approach to law and order which sees too many criminals locked up.

But the EU report suggests that in fact levels of crime in the UK are so high that it would be justified to imprison even greater numbers of offenders.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: 'There is no doubt that because of the Government's failure to address the chronic lack of capacity in our prisons people that should be in jail are not in jail.

'This has more than one negative consequence. Not only are offenders not being properly punished, they also have no chance of receiving proper rehabilitation which undoubtedly leads to higher reoffending rates and more crime.'

While Labour ministers have trumpeted the fall in overall crime in the UK in recent years, the EU report shows that in reality Britain has lagged behind a much faster fall in other countries. It scored particularly badly in certain categories of crime.

Some 3.3 per cent of UK adults reported being burgled in the last year - tallying with Home Office figures showing around 733,000 burglaries at 25million households.

That is the highest level anywhere in Europe - against an average of 1.7 per cent - and is around double the rate in France and three times worse than Germany. The UK and Finland were also the only two countries where repeat surveys show a worsening burglary problem.

Britain also tops the league for car theft, with almost two per cent of owners hit in the past year, well over double the EU average.

The UK has the worst figure for 'assaults and threats' at 5.8 per cent, and is well above the EU average for pickpocketing and 'contact crimes' including robbery and sexual assaults.

The only glimmer of good news is that Britons have an 'extremely low chance' of being asked to pay bribes compared with other EU member states.

Mr Davis said: 'Ten years of Government failure have left the public more at risk from both property crime and violent crime than any other comparable country in Europe.'

LibDem spokesman Nick Clegg said Britain was the 'sick man of Europe' on crime, adding: 'The Government should ask itself why the prisons are at bursting point and yet the level of several crimes are still higher than elsewhere in the EU.'

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty dismissed the findings as 'three years out of date' and questioned the survey's 'quality and comparisons'.

He said it failed to take account of recent crime reduction measures and substantial falls in burglary since 1997.